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Domain: pwc.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to pwc.com.
Stories · 2
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Spotify Files To Go Public (bloomberg.com)
According to Bloomberg, Spotify filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, "in the highest-profile test yet of a technique that lets companies list shares without raising money through a traditional stock offering." From the report: With steady cash from more than 60 million paying subscribers, the world's largest paid music-streaming service doesn't need more funding. Instead of an initial public offering, it's trying a direct listing, which essentially lets private stakeholders start trading their shares on a public exchange. That avoids underwriting fees and restrictions on stock sales by current owners, and doesn't dilute the holdings of executives and investors. Spotify, which has been valued at about $15 billion, would be the most prominent company by far to attempt a direct listing, a method that until now has been used by small issuers and real estate investment trusts. It would also be a first for the New York Stock Exchange, which has sought permission from the Securities & Exchange Commission to change its rules for the occasion. -
Report Shows Patent Trolls Are Thriving
eldavojohn writes "The 2009 Patent Litigation Study has been released by Price Waterhouse Coopers. It shows evidence that patent trolls are growing and doing quite well. Using a very conservative view of a non-practicing entity (referred to as NPE in the report), PWC noted that 'damage awards for NPEs have averaged more than double those for practicing entities since 1995' and 'certain federal district courts (particularly Virginia Eastern and Texas Eastern) continue to be more favorable to patent holders, with shorter time-to-trial, higher success rates, and higher median damages awards.' The report paints a dire picture of the state of patent lawsuits and especially those brought by NPEs and also shows that in the past eighteen years the number of patent cases filed yearly is on the rise significantly when normalized against the number of patents granted yearly."